Saxophone mouthpiece



April 19, 1949. M. WERNER SAXOPHONE MOUTHPIECE Filed May 28, 1947 rOQA/EY INVENTOR.

M/LTon WEE/v.62

Patented Apr. 19 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAXOPHONE MOUTHPIECE Milton Werner, New York, N. Y.

Application May 28, 1947, Serial No. 751,043

This invention relates to a mouthpiece for a saxophone, clarinet, or kindred wind instrument, and its principal object is to provide such mouthpiece with simplified, improved, and efficient means for therein mounting a reed in operative state.

Another object is to provide such mouthpiece with improved and efficient means for readily, rapidly, and conveniently mounting a reed therein and removing it therefrom.

A further object is to provide such mouthpiece with simplified, improved, and efficient means for regulating the extent of opening between its tip and that of its mounted reed.

A still further object is to provide such mouthpiece with improvements, by virtue of which there may be therefor utilized a reed of but approximately one half the length of that heretofore resorted to for the same instrument.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view of saxophone mouthpiece constituting the invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional elevational view of the mouthpiece, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, this view being in an enlarged scale for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 3 is transverse cross-sectional elevational view of the mouthpiece, taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspective views, in an enlarged scale, showing details of the invention.

Fig, 6 is an elevational view, in an enlarged scale, showing another detail of the invention.

The mouthpiece I, Fig. 2, is provided directly beyond its orifice 2 with a face 3, and a recess 4 directly beyond said face, in which recess is located a device 5 hingedly held by a bolt 6 passing therethrough and the sides of the mouthpiece as shown in Fig. 1, whereby said device may be swung about said bolt from the position shown to that indicated by the dash and dot lines on Fig. 2. In the device 5, Fig. 4, is formed a socket l for receiving the rear end portion of a reed 8 as utilized for this invention, in which socket is located a plate 9, and a screw l threading through the wall a of the device has the end ll thereof pivotally joined to the plate 9 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 6. The reed 8 is securely mounted to the device 5 by its rear end portion 8a being inserted in the socket I between its wall 5b and the plate 9, and then turn ing the screw ID to clamp the plate 9 against the reed and the latter against the wall 5b.

6 Claims. (Cl. 84383) The reed 8 may be readily removed for renewal or any other purpose, by merely unthreading the screw in and withdrawing the reed from the socket I. In the bottom of recess 4 is formed an aperture 12 in which is securely set a ferrule I3 having a tap l4, and a set-screw l5 passing through the device 5 is threadable in the tap M, as shown in Fig. 2. When the device 5 is in the position shown, with the reed 8 resting upon the face 3, the reed tip 8b is situated at the closest practicable distance from the mouthpiece tip Ia, creating the minimum practicable opening l6 therebetween, and on then threading the screw l5 into the tap M the reed 8 becomes locked in this set condition. On further turning of the screw I5, the device 5 swings deeper into recess 4, exerts increased pressure of the reed 8 against face 3, and moves the reed tip 8b farther from the mouthpiece tip la, thereby enlarging and regulating the degree of opening l6 between them, which adjustment regulates the tonal effect of the instrument to that desired by its user.

Owing to the above described improvements it is rendered possible to utilize a reed 8 which is but approximately half the length of the normal reed for the same mouth-piece, and as a consequence thereof the reed may be made and sold much more economically and produced with greater accuracy and quality. Also, the above mentioned mode of mounting the reed and the improvements connected therewith and the mouthpiece are greatly conducive toward improving the vibration of the reed with resulting tonal qualities of the instrument, besides offering the aforesaid and other conveniences and advantages of the invention.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, the mouthpiece having a recess beyond said face, a device in said recess having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece and having at its opposite end means for thereto securing a reed in placement upon said face, a screw passing through said device between said hinging and said securing means, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten said reed to said face and to vary the degree of opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

2. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, a device having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece and having at its opposite end means for thereto securing a reed in placement upon said face, a screw passing through said device between said hinging and said securing means, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten said reed to said face and to vary the degree of opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

3. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, a device having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece and having in its opposite end a socket adapted to receive the rear end portion of a reed in placement upon said face,

said device having means for securing said rear end portion of the reed in said socket, ascrew passing through said device between said hinging and said socket, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten said reed to said face and to vary the degree of opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

4. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, the mouthpiece having a recess beyond said face, a device in said recess having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece and having in its opposite end a socket adapted to receive the rear end portion of a reed in placement upon said face, said device having means for securing said rear end portion of the reed in said socket, a screw passing through said device between said hinglng and said socket, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten 5. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, a device having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece and having its opposite end adapted to securely receive the rear end portion of a reed in placement of the reed upon said face, a screw passing through said device between said hinging and said rear end portion of the reed, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten said reed to said face and to vary the degree of opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

6. A mouthpiece for a saxophone or clarinet having the combination with its orifice, a face beyond said orifice, a device having one end thereof hinged to the mouthpiece, a reed, the opposite end of said device and the rear end of said reed being removably secured to each other for placement of the reed upon said face, a screw passing through said device between said hinging and said joint securement of said device and reed, and said screw threading into the mouthpiece to fasten said reed to said face and to vary the degree of opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

MILTON WERNER.

file of this patent:

said reed to said face and to vary the degree of 3 opening between the reed tip and the mouthpiece tip.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

